In October 2024, the Kenyan organisations Africa Center for Engendered Security (ACES), Collaboration of Women in Development (CWID), Community Development & Sustainability Organization (CDS Kenya), and the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies (CHRIPS) partnered with RSI to develop a joint submission to the Human Rights Council ahead of the UN's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Kenya. The UPR is a process in which all the UN Member States can examine the human rights record of the country in question and make recommendations for improvement.
In our joint report, we raise concerns about Kenya's broad and arbitrary implementation of its Prevention of Terrorism Act 2012 (POTA), which has enabled security forces to apply it subjectively to various situations, from silencing protesters and human rights defenders to racially profiling people who identify as Muslim and people of Somali descent.
Our joint submission also highlights concerns about the high numbers of alleged enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions by security forces and the use of excessive force, including lethal force, during anti-government protests. For example, from June to July 2024, military officials responded to protests against the government's tax proposals with violence and are allegedly responsible for multiple fatalities, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary arrests.
Additionally, our submission raises concerns about the government's role in these alleged human rights violations and whether it is doing enough to hold perpetrators accountable, including security forces accused of their involvement in such cases.
For these reasons, RSI and our partners in Kenya are calling on the government of Kenya to:
Amend the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2012 to ensure it aligns with international human rights standards;
Investigate all complaints of excessive use of force, including enforced disappearances; extrajudicial executions; and arbitrary arrest and detention;
Protect rights enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya and international human rights law, including the right to freedom of expression, association, and assembly;
Ratify all relevant international human rights conventions, including the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
These recommendations, among others, are detailed in our joint stakeholder submission.
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